Thanks Buckaroo for that Connie Imboden linkage. i would like to pick up a book of her's. these images are worth keeping for years. Also a book might share some insight as to how she created such amazing shots with straight photography.

plus i like this thread and it's cool to hear the stories behind the nyms. who's next?

Not too much story around mine. I didn't actually choose it, it was pretty much given to me by my best friend in college. She took my name and started sounding it out like the cough drop commercial Riiiicooola. We were probably drunk when she came up with it. Only girl I know that loves drinking Guinness as much as I do. After college we had both moved to different areas and don't talk as much like we did before although we do keep in touch. I started using the nickname as a tribute to her. The year is my year of birth and was only added because in many cases the name was already taken.

As for my avatar, I just liked the picture and chose it for the moment so I would have one.

I chose mine because of the movie "Real Genius". There's a dude that lives in the basement of Cal Tech that's kinda sneaky and is sort of a legend. Students see him from time to time, but he kinda has a "bigfoot" type of legend to him. His name was Lazlo Hollyfeld in the movie. I just liked the name Lazlo for some damn reason.

I use to be a pro pool shooter (aka hustler). in the circles i travelled they knew when i blew a couple of lines before a match it wasnt going to be a long night. I use to run tables very fast...... So rocketman stuck....thats what they called me anyway.

later in life i got a job working with rockets and rocket engines, so it came back again. i figured id use it here.

my moniker was given to me when i was tis just a young lad...........
my friends started calling me wooden boots just mesing with me; i.e make me mad and piss me off. well it worked, so the name stuck. over the years it has been shortened to just boots. i blaze........ a lot. thus the reason for the 420. so now we all know the reason behind boots420.
great thread btw.

mine is obvious for starters i am a huge floyd fan, and as most of you can tell im a huge myco porn freak too. my name was originaly darksideofthemoon, than during a bad ass trip on alot of gulf coast we came up with darksideoftheshroom and ive used it ever since.

I haven't read this thread in a while so i missed a lot of your responses until now Buck. I've long been a fan of King, but I dont think I've read any of the other authors you and jammer mentioned.

I've heard many of the names you two mentioned and would be really interested in reading some of their work. Could you recommend one in particular to start with? I've read a little dickens and twain ( a real little) but most of the names you mentioned I've only heard of here n there as some pretty classic authors. I'm intrigued now.

I've always loved writing, but other then Hagakure, its only been in recent years that i had any interest at all in anything that wasn't written in my generation :p)
It's about time i broadened my literary horizons i think :)

Any suggestions on where to start would be much appreciated buck if you could?

Egg: The Arts Show did a profile on Ms. Imboden not that long ago (pretty cool as she despises press and doesn't do very many interviews, let alone "inside looks" at her process). The video isn't really that long, but it will give you some insight into her techniques. Cool stuff.

Fingers - So, you've never read any Lovecraft? If you dig horror, especially horror of the gothic sort, you need not look farther than him. He all but perfected the genre. I would suggest one of the collections of short stories before wading into one of his novel/novella pieces. BE FORWARNED: Lovecraft is very verbose and freakin' loves those 50 cent words (he also loves making up words and names). I would suggest "At The Mountains Of Madness." Couple of real shorties and a novella, as well.

Also on the poetry front is Pablo Neruda, the greatest romantic poet who has ever lived (IMHO). "I do not love you..." is the greatest ode to/expression of true love I have ever read (and chicks DIG IT). Check it:

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never bloomsbut carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;so I love you because I know no other waythat this: where I does not exist, nor you,so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

I mean dude, how beautiful is that? "I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul." Great line.

One of my earliest memories was lying in bed when I was about three and a half. I heard my parents watching TV and something about it was so fascinating that I had to see what it was. So I snuck out of my room and lay down in the hall where I could see the TV but my parents couldn't see me and watched a Gamera movie until I fell asleep. I remember my parents picking me up and putting me back in bed confused and asking why I was asleep in the hall. I have loved all those giant Japanese monster movies ever since. I have a particular fondness for Gamera not just because of that memory but also because in contrast to a lot of the giant monsters Gamera is unreservedly a protector and friend of children and the movies have a much lighter almost wholesome quality. That night many, many years ago really made me realize just how much cool stuff there was in the world, just waiting to be discovered.

Loved Buckaroo Banzai too by the way, thats one of my favorite movies. Love H.P. Lovecraft too. Saw my first dead show in 1986 as a pseudo punk (got curious about "psychedelic" bands the more I turned on to the Butthole Surfers) and about 30 more shows after that.